Reposting this as we were given this print out a few years ago when we fished one of the very first events on Squaw Creek after it reopened. VERY solid information from actual fish care experts. Figured it was worth a repost.

This proactive plan to keep your catch healthy was created by the folks at Sure Life and has been used in several summer time tournaments with great results. Keep in mind the water temp at Squaw Creek was over 90 degrees for most of the lake and I don't know of a single fish that was not released alive.

In an effort to provide the best possible live release during tournaments; we are encouraging you to be proactive in addressing livewell conditions ALL DAY LONG. Although the weigh in procedure is critical, your handling of the fish throughout the day is even more critical, since the fish are in YOUR POSSESSION for the majority of the time. Please study the following suggestions and give them your utmost consideration.

1. In order to properly condition a livewell, you need to know the approximate volume of your livewell. We highly recommend that you measure the dimensions of your livewell(s) ahead of time to determine gallon volume. Use the following formula to determine the water capacity of your square or rectangular livewell. Using a measuring device (tape or ruler), multiply length times width times height of water in livewell (all in feet) times the constant 7.5. The result will be in gallons.2. Fill livewell(s) early (shortly after takeoff) from good water in main body of lake. Do not fill livewell(s) or exchange water in creeks or coves and especially NOT at take off site. HELPFUL TIP: If you have separate livewells, fill first livewell early and store bags of ice in second livewell. This will help keep the primary livewell cool. Afterwards, if you need the second livewell, it will be easier to cool down. This method will also conserve your ice.3. IMPORTANT!!!! Treat livewell with CATCH & RELEASE early and re-circulate for a couple of minutes to thoroughly mix. For tournaments use the following chart to determine proper amount of CATCH & RELEASE to add to your livewell. MAKE SURE YOU DOSE LIVEWELL BEFORE YOU START FISHING!!!!

4. CRITICAL!!!LIVEWELL TEMPERATURES. Please keep your livewell(s) as close as possible to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. DO NOT LET LIVEWELL TEMPERATURES EXCEED 75 degrees Fahrenheit at any time. Check your thermometer OFTEN to make sure temperatures are in target range.5. Add 3% hydrogen peroxide to livewell once you catch your FIRST FISH. The 3% hydrogen peroxide will provide adequate dissolved oxygen levels even if you experience livewell failure. Pay attention to the dosage rates below and do not exceed our recommendations. Repeat this procedure when you start to operate second livewell upon introduction of fish.

6. If you catch a heavy load of fish, please exchange water in livewell at least once during the day and repeat cooling of water, dosing of CATCH & RELEASE and reapply hydrogen peroxide to livewell.7. IMPORTANT!!!!!!!DO NOT. REPEAT. DO NOT PUMP IN FRESH WATER OR RECIRCULATE FRESH WATER THROUGHOUT THE DAY. This will defeat the purpose of cooling the water down and applications of water conditioners. DO NOT OPERATE LIVEWELLS ON TIMED AERATION. KEEP LIVEWELLS ON MANUAL RECIRCULATION CONSTANTLY.8. DO NOT FILL WEIGH IN BAGS FROM WATER OVER THE SIDE OF BOAT AT WEIGH IN SITE!!!! Fill bags with water from treated and cooled livewells. Dip bags in livewells to fill with water or pump water from livewell through pump out pumps directly to bags as they hang off side of boat. To fill bags with water from lake at this point will totally defeat the purpose of all the work you have done in that livewell throughout the day.9. TIPS FOR DEEP HOOKED OR WOUNDED (BLEEDING) BASS: Wet hands and try to remove hook using “through the gill method” working quickly. Do not keep bass out of water for more than 40 seconds. If having difficulty, then place bass in livewell water between procedures and allow it to breathe for a few moments and resume task of hook removal. If bass has swallowed the hook, then cut the line close as possible to hook eye and place bass in livewell. If bass is bleeding from body or gills, apply a pinch of CATCH & RELEASE directly to the wound. While we can’t guarantee that your bass will live, following these procedures will give them the best possible chance for survival.10. TIPS FOR PROPERLY HANDLING FISH: Try to keep handling bass to a MINIMUM! Try not to let bass come in contact with carpet or let bass bounce around on carpet. This will cause extreme injury to the all-important slime coat or skin of the bass. If you do disrupt slime coating from this action, then this is a good time to rub some CATCH & RELEASE on abrasion. Be cautious not to break jaws of bass. Once broken, that bass will not be able to feed again. ALWAYS hold bass in vertical position or use TWO HANDS to support body. Holding bass with single hand by way of mouth in a horizontal position without proper support will dislocate or break jaw.

How do you keep fish from dying when you release them back into 95 degree water at the ramp?

You are not talking about a guppy here. Body mass and the fact that the entire lake is not the same as the surface temp you get on your depthfinders. You can try and argue with actual biologists on the subject if you want. As for me I will trust Sure Life guys and their tips. To each his own.

Thanks for sharing, Mark. Rob posted something on here a few years ago, and I've had 100% survival rates (at the time of weigh-ins) using his method, but I will print this out, too. I always do my best to conserve the resources we have, even if it means spending a little more time at the live well and a little less with a bait in the water. From about a month ago until the end of September, it's especially important for us to keep a close eye on the fish we are carrying around.

The biologists (at least what you've posted) make no mention of fish surviving after weigh in. That 95 degree boat ramp water can't be good for them. Hence the floaters.

You are assuming they died simply from the temp change. You fail to take into account DO levels in the livewell etc. More to it than just water temps.

Why do I only seem to notice dead fish at the ramp during the summer?

At Lake Fork, we are fortunate to have a live release boat that is at most, if not all, of the larger tournaments.

I think the survival rate while in the boat is considerably lower in the summer months. I'd bet most of the fish you see floating were already dead or near death before being dumped back in the water. Weigh-ins can be harder on the fish than riding around in live wells all day, too, if they aren't well-organized. There's only so much oxygen in a weigh-in bag.

Mark, I use the same method for summertime tournaments and it works like a charm. I carry a small cooler in my boat that two bags of ice will fit in. I installed a temp probe that Lowrance makes inside my live well so I can monitor the live well temps on my Lowrance graphs. A couple weeks ago I fished a tournament on Cedar Creek and when I filled my live well that morning the water was 85 deg. At weigh in time the surface temp of the lake had reached 92 deg. My live well is about 30 gal. I have found it hard to keep the live well temps at 65 deg. during the day. I keep my live well temp in the 70's and never let it get above 80 deg. I have been doing this for years and never lose any fish. I have found that 80 deg. is when you start having problems with your fish. With 1/2 and 1 lb. penalties in tournaments, it pays to take care of your fish. They are not going to survive in a livewell with 90 deg. water running around the lake in rough water. That is the reason you only see dead fish at the ramp. They were DOA.

Great post. I have used catch and release or please release me for as long as I can remember with the guardian system and a bottle of powder in the boat. The points about where to fill your live wells and about recirculating and aerating are important. In larger tournaments there are usually live release boats eliminating the release concerns at the ramp. No release boat put your fish back in your live well and release at main lake area close to ramp.